SJC sets January date for Powers hearing

The state Supreme Judicial Court has scheduled a hearing in the case against Barnstable District Clerk Magistrate Robert Powers.

By STEVE DOANE

capecodtimes.com

By STEVE DOANE

Posted Dec. 3, 2012 at 8:22 PM
Updated Dec 3, 2012 at 8:23 PM

By STEVE DOANE

Posted Dec. 3, 2012 at 8:22 PM
Updated Dec 3, 2012 at 8:23 PM

» Social News

The state Supreme Judicial Court has scheduled a hearing in the case against Barnstable District Clerk Magistrate Robert E. Powers.

The high court will hear arguments at 9 a.m. Jan. 8 in Boston and will make the ultimate decision on Powers’ fate. The hearing will represent the last opportunity for Powers to plead his case before the court rules on whether he should be removed for alleged misconduct over the course of his nearly six years in the position.

This past January, the Committee on Professional Responsibility for Clerks of the Court, the body that oversees court clerks across the state, charged Powers, 59, with violating certain “canons” of the job with behavior including “unpredictable, disrespectful and sometimes aggressive conduct as clerk magistrate”; failure to show up for work on time; inappropriate conduct toward court clients; and failure to render timely decisions on cases.

Powers was reassigned to Taunton District Court as the case played out.

In the spring, a formal hearing into the charges took place over six days in Barnstable Superior Court. In that hearing, held from March to mid-April, witnesses – including judges, attorneys and court staff – recalled their experiences with Powers during his tenure.

In September, the officer that presided over that hearing issued a scathing report on his findings and recommended Powers be removed. Two weeks after that report, the committee also recommended he be removed.

Powers was appointed to the $110,000-a-year job in 2007 by former Gov. Mitt Romney. The position is a lifetime appointment and has no compulsory retirement age.